Hi! I thought I should update another chapter to make up my break. So, please enjoy.
Thank you for the reviews :)
loveroftheyaoi, your review is detailed as always ;)
"Thanks." Akihito muttered to the taxi driver as he closed the door with his unoccupied hand and quickly went into the small hotel building.
The hotel seemed like a good choice for them to hide for the night. He needed to clear his jumbled mind a bit before he could plan what to do afterwards. The twins would also need some explanation after they had their rest.
Speaking of explanation, he couldn't find any courage to think of it. He was trapped between hiding the truth and feeding them little lies in order to smooth things out. Then again, Ryu would probably come out with his own theory if he detected the slightest trace of dishonest-which Ryu was very good at. There wasn't even much he could lie to Ryu at the first place with Ryu knowing the root of their problems.
Tetsuya was the one who worried him the most. He knew that Tetsuya really liked Feilong and admired him. He could even say that Tetsuya saw Feilong as a father figure. Now that they left Feilong, Tetsuya would surely become sad.
"Alright, Ryu, go to sleep." Akihito said with a hint of apology as he tucked Tetsuya into the other twin bed. Ryu was sitting on the couch with the suitcase and two backpacks they brought with them.
"Where are you going to sleep, Papa?" Ryu asked with his eyelids drooping.
"I'll sleep on the couch."
"I can sleep with Tetsuya, Papa. You can have the other bed." Ryu said as he walked towards the bed which Tetsuya was lying on.
"Ryu, I'm fine. You need to have a good sleep and the couch won't give you that."
"But I-"
"Ryu, no. I appreciate that but I want you to rest well because later, we're going to have a long talk." The stern look returned to Akihito's hazel orbs and Ryu couldn't protest any further.
Sighing, Ryu nodded and turned to the vacant bed. As Ryu slipped under the duvet, Akihito approached Ryu and crouched down.
"Ryu." Akihito called out softly.
"Hm?" Ryu was too tired to respond properly and could only hum.
Akihito opened his mouth to continue but he closed it before he could articulate anything. The same thing repeated itself a few times until Akihito gave in. Akihito pressed his lips onto Ryu's forehead for several heartbeats before pulling away.
"Good night." Akihito said and walked towards the couch opposite the beds.
"Good night, Papa." Ryu said before letting himself to be drifted into sleep.
The void of sound in the room allowed Akihito to calm down for a bit. Slumping down on the couch, Akihito let out a contented sigh when he felt the stiffness around his shoulders and legs began to lessen.
Staring at the ceiling, Akihito waited for unconsciousness to claim him.
Please, even just for a few hours, let me be free of everything.
"Hello, mister. Sorry for calling you this late but I gotta tell you something...it's me, your little bird who got you the hair samples. Remember now?" The man said in laid-back tone on the phone.
"Yeah. It's about the blond and the two kids...they ran away. No, they ran on their own...I know where they are. Do you want-why did I even bother to ask you that...they are in a cheap hotel called Miyagi Motel in Shibuya district." The man let out a small exasperated sigh.
"Why am I doing this?" The man pursed his lips "Who knows..."
The call was ended before the person on the other line could say anything. The man turned the phone off and tossed it out of the window. Taking a glance on the side-view mirror, the man adjusted his hood and continued to watch the entrance of the hotel.
He would not let Akihito and his sons leave the hotel until Asami's men arrive.
He held no grudge against them, in fact, he had learn to like them over the years they spent together-albeit not close. But if he had to choose between them and his master, then, he would rather sacrifice them.
His master would hate him if he knew about what he did. But it was alright. As long as his master would be safe and remain powerful, he was willing to take anything. Even if he could no longer stay beside him.
He would beg for a bullet in his heart from his master later. That was the only ending for someone like him, who had his heart stolen, could have.
He had tried many times to warn his master about this inevitable crisis but his master won't heed. His master was distracted by happiness-not that he disliked his master being happy but for someone like his master, happiness is a double-edged sword. He would give anything to make his master happy. If only he was the one who could make his master's loneliness vanish...
The man was snapped out of his thoughts as a familiar ring tone hit his ears. It was the ring tone that he had learned to anticipate every day for the years he had served under his master. He slipped his hand into his slack's pocket and took out the ringing phone.
"Ye-" He said as soon he had connected the call but was cut off by the caller.
For a few long seconds, he went quiet and listened.
When the caller was was done, he said with the same respectful tone he had always used to his master,"Yes, Feilong-sama."
The line was hung almost immediately after that.
The call had stirred the huge guilt he was harboring towards his master and the Takabas. His master was very worried upon realizing the absence of his family and ordered him to look for them.
"I'm sorry, Feilong-sama." He whispered.
His mind involuntarily replayed the last conversation he had with Akihito.
He knocked the door twice and waited for Akihito to open the door. Several brief moments later, there was no respond. He knocked again, harder this time, and it wasn't long before the door was opened.
"Huh? Yoh?" Akihito said comically, clearly surprised to see him.
"Pardon me for disturbing you at this time, but I need to talk with you." He said in a tone that conveyed urgency.
"Oh, sure. Come in." The blond instantly turned nervous and widened the door to let him in.
"Thank you."
Akihito closed the door behind him with a low thud after he walked into the bedroom.
"Please, have a seat." Akihito gestured the small love seat across them.
"Takaba-san, please have a seat first." He pleaded.
Akihito gave him a very awkward look but probably, due to the serious air he was emanating, Akihito didn't say anything and complied.
Once Akihito was seated, he went down on his knees. The blond was shocked by his action and shot off to stand up.
"Yoh! What are you doing?"
"Takaba-san, you are a good person. I have no doubt in your sincerity towards Feilong-sama. That is why, please hear me out."
"What the-I will stil hear you out without you kneeling down like this. Get up, Yoh. You're making me edgy."
"No, Takaba-san. I...can't."
"Can't what?" Akihito asked worriedly.
"Takaba-san," He dropped his head low "please go to Asami."
A startled gasp was Akihito's reaction. Even without looking up, he knew that Akihito was trembling.
"W-w-what?"
"Feilong-sama is being blackmailed by Asami; the only possession that Feilong-sama's father left for Feilong-sama was stolen and Asami threatened to use it to destroy Feilong-sama. Asami had given him seventy-two hours to surrender you and the twins and leave Japan."
Akihito couldn't form any words, all he could do was stare at Yoh with his eyes wide open.
"That is why, I beg you, Takaba-san. Please go to Asami."
"Wha-what did Feilong say about this?"
"Feilong-sama will never allow it to happen, Takaba-san. That is why I'm asking you to do this or he will really get himself killed along with everyone under him," His head fell even further as he continued in a desperate voice ,"Please, Takaba-san. I know what I'm asking of you is not easy but there is no one other than you can prevent the war."
Silence overtook the space as both of them couldn't bear the weight of their conversation.
"Is there no other way?" Akihito finally spoke.
He raised his head and met Akihito's eyes. "Yes, there is no other way."
He had foreseen the decision that Akihito would make. No, he made Akihito took the decision to run. Akihito was a loving person, naturally tender by heart and there was no way he would let anyone get hurt for him. Akihito placed his children and people around him first and that trait was the most crucial key in his plan.
Taking Akihito and the twins within Feilong's compound would have been very difficult. With the threat from Asami, Feilong would tighten his protection over them. The only option he had left was to separate them from Feilong before luring Asami out to them. It would later appear as Asami managed to found them on his own and Feilong would have no clue to what he had done.
No clue to what he had done? He had to laugh at his own silly contradiction.
He was the one who gave the hair to Asami's men, leaking the Akihito's secret. He wanted Asami to take Akihito and the twins away from Feilong so that Feilong could revert his attention back to his turf. That alone gave Feilong enough reason to kill him.
It was very pathetic of him but when he wanted to plead for his death from Feilong, he also wanted Feilong to not know of his plan at the same time. So much for being in love.
But he will face it. He had betrayed Feilong, his master, and he would never deny that.
Yoh was once again interrupted from his thoughts when five sleek, black cars pulled over behind his car. Men in black suits soon boarded off the cars and with a mountainous blond leading them, they all went into the building.
Because he was convinced that there was no one in the cars behind, Yoh didn't bothered much to mask his presence. He was too preoccupied with the men who had gone to get Akihito and the children that he didn't notice Kuroda and Kirishima had got off from one of the cars and were now looking at him suspiciously.
Only when Kuroda had tapped his window that he realized that he was spotted.
Without wasting any more time, he sped off while cursing his recklessness. His hood was still on and that eased him a bit. All that he had to do was get out from there and he would not be recognized.
But, his chance to get away was decreasing when he noticed there was two cars tailing him. He drove the car near to its limit and for a while, he was almost convinced that he had shook them off his back until the cars appeared back not far behind him. Worse, they began shooting at the tires and managed to shoot at two of them. The sudden deflation of the tires caused him to lose control over the vehicle and before he knew it, he was already upside down in mid air. The last thing he saw was the windshield being shattered.
It happened so fast. One second, they were sleeping peacefully in their hotel room but the next second, they were startled awake by the sound of the door being opened by force. Papa had screamed to them, telling them to run but they couldn't. When Akihito struggled against the men, one of them took out a cloth and covered Akihito's mouth and nose with the said cloth. Akihito went unconscious after that.
Seeing Tetsuya who was frightened, the men paused abruptly. A tall blond approached them and was surprisingly reasonable enough to speak to them. The blond coaxed them to follow them and tried to help carry them to the car. But with one sharp "Don't touch us", the blond understood and allowed them to walk on their own.
Tetsuya was crying violently against him, his whole body shaking in fear. He, too, was scared but for some reason, he didn't feel like crying. He could only wrap his arms around Tetsuya and try to calm him down while watching his Papa lying unconscious on Asami's lap.
Asami was cradling his Papa's head on the crook of his neck while his arms were coiled around his Papa's body. Asami's face was devoid of any emotion but he could see that his eyes had softened and there was no sign of impending violence.
As if he could sense the stare Ryu was giving him, Asami moved his sight to his son.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Asami said quietly.
Ryu felt his blood boiling at that. First he got them like that and now he was apologizing? He could have done something in more civilized ways!
Tetsuya's sobs suddenly became the center of Asami's attention and the apologetic feeling that Ryu felt from Asami escalated. Ryu had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes.
"Tetsuya." Asami said gently.
Tetsuya's breath turned erratic and his body turned rigid at the mention of his name.
"Tetsuya," Asami reached out a hand towards Tetsuya "I won't hurt you."
Whimpers were all they could hear from Tetsuya. Disappointment and sorrow marred Asami's expression by then and he slowly let his hand fell on his side.
"I'm sorry." Asami repeated.
"Bad guy! Asami is a bad guy! I hate you!" Tetsuya shouted even while his cheeks were wet with tears.
The insult wasn't directed at him but he could feel the sting. He wondered how Asami would take it and he wasn't the least surprised when he saw a flicker of pain in his eyes.
It was confusing but the moment he saw the hurt in Asami, he forgot the anger he felt earlier. Instead, he pitied Asami. Asami, their father, who looked so clueless of what to do.